Erstwhile Daria Kasatkina coach reveals clash that caused split

The former coach of Daria Kasatkina has revealed why the working partnership was terminated.

Carlos Martinez believes that the split was brought about over disagreements over how Kasatkina spent her time away from the court.

It is unclear what exactly Kasatkina was doing away from the court which Martinez did not approve of but he said that the two could not reach an agreement over the squabble.

“There are some reasons (why we have stopped working together). It is not about tennis but it is about other priorities that I have and I have some principles that I want to follow,” Martinez told Ubitennis.

“We have a different points of view about things and it is better that we do it like this.”

Martinez admitted that the split did not come as a surprise.

“It was an expected decision from my side. It was not a big surprise. I was very sad because I loved working with Dasha. She is a great girl and a great player.

“I think our connection on the court was really good but in the end, there were things about what she was doing, in my opinion, off the court.

“In my opinion, these were not the best for her career. That’s why she has decided to stop because our last conversation was the same way. Then I think she was a bit tired and not agreeing with my point of view of how she has to do things off the court.”

When asked to elaborate on the split, Martinez only intimated that it was something to do with Kasatkina’s approach to preparation.

“As a coach, I want to do things in a way. I think if you want to be a top player you have to do better and better every single year because if you want to be at the top of the rankings you have to be more precise with how you do it.

“Especially off the court. That’s why I think we had different points of view on the things that one professional tennis player has to do.

“I am not saying what she was doing was wrong because she is a very good professional. But I feel that on some days she has to take care if she wants to be there. There is a lot of pressure, she has to work on very specific things and I think that she has to manage her time off the court a bit better.

“Our points of view are a bit different. I like to just focus on tennis and try to do my best. To invest more time to get better every day and that’s why I was thinking a bit differently. I respect Dasha because in the end, it’s her career and her decision. She is an adult and she has to make her decisions. It’s not a problem for me.”

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